The hotel industry offers a lot of exciting opportunities for professional development, fast promotion and personal growth. Plus, you can have an exciting career that takes you all over the world, working in some of the world's most beautiful destinations.
Here are 10 great reasons why you should consider a career in the hotel industry.
1. Endless opportunities for growth
The hotel industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, with new hotels and resorts opening up every year. In fact, the global hospitality industry is expected to grow at a stable rate of 7% per year until 2025. In Australia, the hotels and resorts industry is currently worth $1.3 billion and is expected to grow by 13.3% in 2023.
Plus, with the shortage of skilled hotel professionals affecting hotel brands around the world, opportunities for employment and fast promotion in this high-growth sector have never been better.
In 2023, as hotels compete for the brightest talent, it's the perfect industry for professional growth and career advancement. With some education and training, you can start as a front desk agent and work your way up to becoming a hotel manager, director of operations or even a CEO, within a relatively fast time frame compared to other industries.
2. Diverse career paths
The hotel industry offers a wide range of career paths, from sales and marketing to food and beverage, housekeeping, and event planning. Whether you prefer logistics and operations, finance and business or front-of-house and customer service, there's a department with your name on it.
The accommodation sector as a whole also offers a vast range of businesses to choose from. If you're a fan of the outdoors you could work in an alpine ski Chalet or boutique wilderness eco-lodge. If you like a challenge, you could try managing a huge metropolitan hotel with hundreds of guests a day. When you work in hotels, you get to try out all the different departments and choose a career that really aligns with your interests and passions.
3. Work anywhere in the world
One of the most exciting things about working in the hotel industry is that you get to travel to lots of exceptional locations. Many hotels have properties in some of the most attractive destinations and buzzing capital cities on every continent, including the world's three top major hotel groups (Choice Hotels, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group) which between them hold between 7,000 to 9,200 properties all over the globe. When you work for an international chain like Marriott International, you can transfer your skills and qualifications all over the world, easily moving roles while still remaining within the same company
4. Job security
Since the end of the pandemic tourism has well and truly bounced back, with many holidaymakers now returning to hotels and enjoying the trips they had previously delayed. As a result, the hotel industry is now once again the stable and secure industry it's always been, with many hotels offering long-term employment opportunities and even additional perks like free accommodation to attract new talent. As long as people continue to travel and need a place to stay, there will always be a demand for hotel jobs.
5. Transferable skills
Getting a degree or training in hotel management and experience working in hotels can provide you with a broad array of transferable skills that can be used in other industries. For example, soft skills such as customer service, communication, and problem-solving skills are highly valued in many fields right now. With Hotel Management training, you can also move into work in fields such as air travel, tourism, destination marketing, retail management, real estate or other related areas.
6. Competitive salaries and benefits
Many big hotel brands such as Hilton and Marriott offer competitive salaries and benefits packages, including health insurance, retirement plans, parental leave and paid time off. Due to the current shortage of skilled hospitality professionals worldwide, some hotels right now also offer a range of perks to attract employees, plus bonuses and incentives for exceptional performance.
7. Creative job opportunities
If you're someone who enjoys having a bit of creativity in your working role, the hotel industry offers a lot of different opportunities to flex your creative muscle. Aesthetics, design, beautiful images and creative marketing all play an important role in hotels.
Creativity is essential to providing exceptional customer experience and marketing your hotel destination. From food photography to creative social media advertising campaigns, event planning, designing menus or updating interiors; If you are a creative person, the hotel industry can be a great place to offer your creative services or showcase your talents.
8. Teamwork and collaboration
If you're someone who loves working with a great team, hotels could be the ideal working environment for you. No matter how senior or junior your role is, working in a hotel requires teamwork and collaboration at every level. Each department has to work together, and within each department, it's the communication and collaboration among teams that keep a hotel running smoothly. Because the hotel industry is also very international, when you work in a hotel you also get to work with people from lots of different backgrounds and cultures, and you can learn a lot about the world.
9. Ethical, sustainable and future-focused jobs
The hotel industry in 2023 is at the cutting edge of sustainability, wellness and new digital tools. The world's first totally carbon-neutral hotel, Room2 Chiswick opened in London in 2021; and now many others are following their example. Hotel General Managers and CEOs are leading the way with some of the biggest innovations in any industry happening right now.
From net-zero emissions targets to gender equality commitments and AI-powered smart hotels, the whole hotel industry has recently entered an unprecedented and exciting time of change. So, if you're someone who thrives off new technologies or working in an ethical environment at the forefront of sustainability, you should consider a career in hotels.
10. Creating memorable experiences
Many people who choose careers in hotels do so because they love making a difference in the lives of other people. Whether it's providing exceptional customer service, creating memorable experiences for people during the happiest moments of their year, or helping guests in need, you can have a positive impact on people's lives every day. People travel in order to get the most out of life and to share meaningful time with the people they love. As a hotel professional, you get to share those moments and provide a service for guests that they'll never forget.
The hotel industry is a rewarding and exciting field that offers many opportunities for growth, creativity, travel, excitement and fulfilment. If you are passionate about hospitality and customer service and you like working on a team, a career in the hotel industry may be the perfect fit for you.
